3 positives to take from Mariners’ first homestand

The two wins salvaged by the Seattle Mariners on their first homestand of the season prevented it from being a total disaster, but most of you still seem pretty frustrated with the reigning American League West cellar-dwellars.

You have good reason, certainly. But since we’ve written most of this week about the team’s various struggles, let’s highlight some of the positive things — yes, there were some — we can take from the first six home games of the year.

1.Give the Mariners credit. They stick with the game. This was one of few things to be (mildly) pleased with after of the home opener — yes, Seattle lost 12-3, but there were at least signs that nobody was giving up on at-bats in an attempt to speed the inevitable. Ryan Langerhans, for example, drew four walks, and others throughout the lineup displayed patience and concentration despite the deficit.

That type of dedication to finishing games pays dividends on nights like Monday, when the Mariners clawed out of a 7-0 hole by working counts, taking walks and (finally) picking up timely base hits. It also helps provide evidence to the players that manager Eric Wedge’s philosophy can, indeed, yield success. He kept on his guys during Friday’s home opener about not giving away at-bats, so it’s important that they got to watch those efforts pay off in the form of a gutty comeback win later in the week. Seattle drew 29 walks in its six home games, an average of nearly five per game. And sure, 10 of those were in one game, the result of control problems in Toronto’s bullpen (though the Blue Jays wouldn’t have needed to go so deep had Jesse Litsch not been worked for 111 pitches in five innings).

But even if you add in the Oakland and Texas series, Seattle still averages a shade over four walks per game. Compare that to last year, when the Mariners averaged just 2.8 walks per game, and you’re starting to see signs of increased patience. Or just bad pitching by the opponents. We’ll look on the happy side, for now.

Of course, this approach could be hard to maintain if the Mariners are already out of the playoff race come July. It often corresponds with a team’s frustration level. But for now, the Mariners at least play like a team content with their process and confident that they can win with their approach. That’s better than a clubhouse full of guys questioning if they’re doing the right thing.

2. The bullpen can be a positive factor this year. It might not have looked that way on Wednesday, when starter Jason Vargas handed a seventh-inning lead to the pen and watched it implode en route to an 8-3 loss. But prior to Jose Bautista’s three-run homer in the eighth, Mariners relievers had thrown 17 scoreless innings. Most importantly, that also means they didn’t give up any runs in relief of Felix Hernandez or Michael Pineda. That’s going to be key all year, because the offense isn’t likely to do either guy too many favors.

Also, don’t forget the Mariners will be regaining closer David Aardsma here before too long, giving them their stopper back with two big arms (Brandon League and Josh Lueke) in front of him.

3. Pineda is reason No. 2 to watch the Mariners. Felix is still the biggest draw (though he wasn’t on Monday), but Pineda gave Mariners fans one more reason to look forward to home games. Even if the team winds up in the American League West cellar again, fans at least know they could witness a truly dominating performance 40 percent of the time they come out to the park. Pineda’s fastball and slider are already good enough to hold his own in the A.L. Imagine what he could be like with a third A-plus pitch (possibly a changeup?).

We could go on and on about the 22-year-old’s potential as a franchise-changer. But what we learned this weekend is that at the very least, he gives people another reason to want to buy a ticket.